Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

This historical fiction novel takes place in the West Indies of Jamaica. The time period is set in
the 1800s though it was published in 1966. Because it is a prequel to the novel Jane Eyre, the
date of which the events occur should be only one generation before that of Jane Eyre, which
was only said to be sometime in the mid-1800s.
The point of view throughout Wide Sargasso Sea is first person. Though it is written in this style,
the point of view does change from one character occasionally to the next in transitioning
chapters. The majority of the book is written from the perspective of Antoinette Cosway. The
course of her life, from a young girl to a grown woman, is covered quite briefly like so. Towards
the middle of the book the point of view changes to her husbands, Mister Rochester. From this
point on, it changes back and forth from his point of view to hers by each chapter.
Antoinette- Antoinette was the daughter of white ex-slave owners and is the main character in
this book based off of the woman in the attic in Jane Eyre. Antoinette was a curious and fragile
young girl until she was indirectly rejected by her mother who was said to be crazy. She grows
up and shows increasingly sensitive feelings for her spouse, Mister Rochester. She lives her life
restlessly and unfulfilled, wanting something that could seemingly never be. Though she appears
to have a take on life that is colorful and exquisite, as she observes in first person the colors and
imagery of her surroundings quite descriptively, she unfolds a desire that can never be satisfied.
Her unfulfillment leads her to eventually go crazy, aware that she is a burden to her own husband
and a victim of her own darkness.
Christophine - Christophine was a black woman from Martinique who was the Cosway family
servant and Antoinettes nurse. Antoinette described her as being different from the other
Martinique women when she says She was much blacker blue-black with a thin face and
straight features. She wore a black dressand yellow handkerchiefNo other negro woman
wore black, or tied her handkerchief Martinique fashion. Christophine cared for Antoinette in
ways that her mother did not. She also showed sympathy when there was none to be found.
Christophine noticed first how poorly Rochester began to treat Antoinette. She was the witness
of the torment he caused her and eventually, practically begged him to stop for the sake of
Antoinettes sanity.
Rochester- Rochester is the man who Antoinette marries. He is not physically described in Wide
Sargasso Sea, though his character can be recollected from the book Jane Eyre. Rochester was
the man who Antoinette married, though he regrets this commitment later on in the book. His
uneasiness about the marriage seemed subtle at first until he received a letter from a man
warning him about the sanity of her family and convincing him that Antoinette, like her mother,
was crazy. Rochester looked for ways to love her, but the poor man found no hope in trying to
make something that simply could not be. He is pressured to even just pretend to love her by

Christophine, who puts him at fault for all Antoinettes misery. He carries this burden all the way
back to England with him where he keeps her locked away.
1. Madness
2. Oppression/slavery
3. Death/misery
The overall plot basically covers the life of Antoinette Cosway from a small girl to a grown
woman. In the beginning, she lives with her caretaker Christophine, her mother and the man her
mother married, Mister Mason. They live on a small island until they realize the people of the
island hate them and wish to exile them. Their house is burned and they flee off to another island
to live. After losing her other small child, Pierre in a fire, Antoinettes mother, Annette is
distraught to the point of isolation from anything or anyone. Her mother eventually dies and
Antoinette marries a man, Mister Rochester. Her lack of love as a small child leads her into a
state of desperation, and a slave to her dependency to her husband. Christophine witnesses the
misery Antoinette experiences and supports her, cares for her and even begs Rochester to show
her affection. Rochester does not love her, but with the burden of his own wifes sanity, takes her
with him back to England where he keeps her locked away to sulk in her madness and be cared
for by Miss Grace Poole.
This book contains many high points or climaxes. Antoinette becomes mad over a period of time,
though it still takes the reader by surprise. I believe the most significant high point in the book is
in the end, when she is the craziest, nearly a monster. It is the point in which one realizes she is
truly insane. It is quite frightening to realize she is the same character she was at the beginning of
the book, having a taste of life and a head on her shoulders.
I believe the universal meaning of all of Antoinettes suffering in Wide Sargasso Sea is to
demonstrate the effects that the lack of love can have on a child. Worse than having no evident
birth father, she was rejected by her own mother at a young age. This is the most obvious reason
she grows to be so co-dependent on her husband, Rochester. Everything he does affects her so
dramatically and since he does not and cannot love her, she loses herself.
1. She had left me thirsty and all my life would be thirst and longing for what I had lost
before I found it. This is a quote said by Rochester on page 172 near the ending of part
two in the book. He says this in his hatred for everything that had happened, but above
all, Antoinette. This quote helps the reader understand the anguish he must have gone
through in receiving such poor circumstances in his marriage, and ultimately in love. He
knew having a wife was supposed to be a good thing, but in this case he felt trapped
underneath the surface of hatred. He could not leave her and therefore could not go off to
love anyone else. He was trapped.
2. "If I could die. Now, when I am happy. Would you do that? Would you do that? You
wouldn't have to kill me. Say die and I will die. You don't believe me? Then try, try say
die and watch me die."

"Die then! Die!"

I watched her die many times. In my way, not in hers [] Very soon she was as eager for
what's called loving as I was more lost and drowned afterwards.
This quote is a dialog between Antoinette and Rochester. Antoinette speaks first,
confessing her dreadfully helpless dependency on her husband. She confesses how the
only time she feels happy is when she is with him, and she gives him permission
(metaphorically speaking) to kill her because she is the best she will ever be with him. He
replies with impulsive hatred, responding in his thoughts the frequency of Antoinettes
death (not literal) to him. She leaves herself metaphorically at the point of true
desperation and Mister Rochester is just saying he has witnessed this many times.
Rochester implies they made love and afterwards says she was more lost and drowned
afterwards. Perhaps this is because the moment of true happiness is over and Antoinette
realizes what she lacks after experiencing it fully.
3. There is no looking glass here and I dont know what I am like now [] Long ago when
I was a child and very lonely I tried to kiss her. But the glass was between us hard, cold
and misted over with my breath. Now they have taken everything away. What am I doing
in this place and who am I? This quote from page 180 is a symbolic picture of
Antoinettes childhood. The cold hard mirror she is describing represents the obstacle
between her and accepting who she was and that she could be loved. When she says there
is no looking glass here, it symbolizes that she cannot see who she is when she is at
Thornfield Hall. She does not know, and they have put her in a room where she will
never know her reflection.
I enjoyed reading this book very much. Compared to Jane Eyre, I prefer this book because of its
ability to paint a picture in my mind. The themes were simpler and easier to understand and the
writing was more fluent and colorful than that of Jane Eyre. I was surprised and delighted to see
how the story of the woman in the attic unfolded. It was sad but it was passionate and made me,
the reader, very involved.